Surf and Skim OBX

Hey I'm from the OBX. Just got a new 50D with a kit 28-135. All pictures cropped and adjusted with Picasa. Please give me any and all advice. I take criticism well, and I am eager to learn. I feel like I am missing something. Is it that I was shooting in "sport mode"? or is it that I was shooting in JPG instead of raw? Or is Picasa doing a crappy job? Let me know what you think.

They look pretty good to me. I am no photo expert but if they were sharper I think they may pop a little more. Also try using Av and setting iso lower and maybe you will get a little more detail that way.

Those are some awesome captures though.

They look great.
Why dont you use DPP that came with your cam?
It is way better than some online generator. (if that is what Picasa is ?)

Color and contrast look flat somewhat, which is what happens when you shoot in mid day sun light.

Dont use AV or [Sport mode!!!] Just use Manual. The light is not changing that much right, so nail down your exposure and watch clipping all that white water.

Picasa is google's photo bucket. It comes with a downloadable program that lets you manage your photos, do minor editing. The color and contrast adjustments are really simple. It has four sliders. Fill Light, Highlights, Shadows, and Tempature. These whites are blown out because I moved the Highlight slider too far.

I haven't tried DPP. If I really want to mess with stuff I have been using Gimp. Is DPP superior?

As for shooting in manual. So your saying that metering off the dark blue water will yield the same exposure as when the wave is crashing with a lot of white?

Nice, very nice captures.

Wow... great action shots, with a little PP they can be outstanding.

great shots!

I agree: the shots are great (and the horizons are straight).

Use DPP (the program that came with your camera). It's excellent for sharpening and saturation.

These horizons were not strait. I straitened them in Picasa. It has a very easy straiten tool. I tried DPP and the sharpen was amazing. So much better than Picasa and Gimp, but
I am not getting the color adjustment part. I don't know where to start. I guess I need to look up some tutorials on that. Does adobe lightroom do the same thing?

Very good series.
I especially like the 5th, although a little more saturation would not hurt him, I think.

greetings.

i agree with mikeassk. I think if anything, a touch of color and contrast adjustment would help. But overall, I think they look pretty good! And they look super sharp to me as is, so I wouldn't mess with that too much.

Out of curiosity, what gear did you use for these?

I realize your horizons were probably not straight in the first place, but you fixed them before posting. First time I posted surf shots I didn't even know any better.

Great shots!

nice work w/ the 28-135!

Try using "TV mode" also .... - ISO 200 - 1000th sec - Al Servo.
Play with the shutter speed according to clouds and time of day.

.... nice timing on those!